Looking to Grab a HomePod Before They're Gone? These Retailers Still Have Stock

[ignatius345]

On a whim, I ordered a HomePod Mini yesterday and got it today. I'm not sure what I expected, but I'm pretty underwhelmed. I guess for $100 it's fine, but it just doesn't sound that great. Quite a bit worse than the Yamaha wifi speaker I was hoping to replace with it.

I might just return it and get a full-sized HomePod, TBH. As long as it continues to function as an AirPlay 2 speaker (and I can't see why not) then I think it might be worth it to me just for the better sound quality.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I might just return it and get a full-sized HomePod, TBH.

As long as you want a white one, you should be fine. If you want a space gray one that’s full-sized, not likely to happen.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

On a whim, I ordered a HomePod Mini yesterday and got it today. I'm not sure what I expected, but I'm pretty underwhelmed. I guess for $100 it's fine, but it just doesn't sound that great. Quite a bit worse than the Yamaha wifi speaker I was hoping to replace with it.

I might just return it and get a full-sized HomePod, TBH. As long as it continues to function as an AirPlay 2 speaker (and I can't see why not) then I think it might be worth it to me just for the better sound quality.

why not go Sonos, which will definitely function as an airplay 2 speaker and many more things besides?

 

[Kampy1]

Damn... I was planning to buy a pair of HomePods as soon as they went on sale for $199 again.

I'm actually still considering it... ever since the update that enabled support for Dolby Atmos / 5.1 / 7.1 I have been wanting to replace my 25 year old home theatre system with a pair of HomePods

 

[Sooby]

On a whim, I ordered a HomePod Mini yesterday and got it today. I'm not sure what I expected, but I'm pretty underwhelmed. I guess for $100 it's fine, but it just doesn't sound that great. Quite a bit worse than the Yamaha wifi speaker I was hoping to replace with it.

I might just return it and get a full-sized HomePod, TBH. As long as it continues to function as an AirPlay 2 speaker (and I can't see why not) then I think it might be worth it to me just for the better sound quality.

I agree; the HomePod Mini has a poor sound. There's very little bass and the higher frequency sounds are harsh and uncomfortable for me. Sometimes it sounds like the music is being compressed when playing from the Mini and despite what a lot of people say the Mini can't handle music well at its maximum volume - it's better at 80% or 90% volume.

 

[ignatius345]

I agree; the HomePod Mini has a poor sound. There's very little bass and the higher frequency sounds are harsh and uncomfortable for me. Sometimes it sounds like the music is being compressed when playing from the Mini and despite what a lot of people say the Mini can't handle music well at its maximum volume - it's better at 80% or 90% volume.

Yeah. I think I had unrealistic expectations for a $100 speaker the size of a grapefruit. It's decent for what it is, but it's kind of a drag Apple has fallen back to the "good enough" level for its only speaker.

 

[SFjohn]

I wonder if Apple TV is next? It hasn't been updated for about the same length of time and uses the same outdated processor.

It’s due for replacement this year.

 

[SFjohn]

If anything, Apple will update it possibly with a game edition with controllers. Smart TV’s may have the app but the hardware on many Smart TV’s [usually] isn’t enough to handle a lot of content. I have 180TB’s of 1080p - 8K movies with stereo and lossless surround sound tracks on server racks in my main home theatre with a McIntosh AVR and B&W speaks. I usually use players for 4K and 8K but often times I’ll use my Apple TV 4K with Infuse or Plex unless I‘m playing ATMOS (a whole other issue with licensing fees Apple needs to work out as it’s ridiculous the Apple TV 4K doesn’t support the codec when other players like Shield do - as a beta tester with Firecore for Infuse it’s a much discussed topic with years of petitions to Apple for support).

Even newer Smart TV’s from Sony, LG, etc have difficulty playing some MP4’s with default stereo tracks that my Apple TV 4K has no issue playing. I can’t see Apple relying on other manufacturers to support the Apple TV app especially when they’re pushing hard into the streaming market with their own content. The HomePod was surprising especially as Apple added ATMOS support to them but not the Apple TV - yet. If anything, Apple will most likely update the Apple TV with a faster processor and support for more codecs if they have done so with a now discontinued product and up the storage.

Although I am surprised apple left the networking market when 90% of their products rely on solid Internet as they’re pushing harder into streaming services. Apple should have purchased another company and brought them in-house if they didn’t want to develop mesh systems. Maybe adding mesh to the Apple TV as it acts as a HomeKit hub or re-enter the network market with a new HomePod that has mesh integrated to differentiate it from the mini. That would be a smart move.

I’m confused, Apple TV supports Dolby Vision & ATMOS.

 

[SFjohn]

This doesn't surprise me at all; I suspected this was likely to occur.

I don't even use mine anymore. The sounds is incredible, but even streaming to it from my Macbook Pro 16,1 (Big Sur) is problematic, choppy at times. I have Sonos now. Not as great, but it's a lot more consistent.

Not sure what else we could do with the HomePod -- if I could get consistent sound performance, that would be great. Not sure we could jailbreak it or if that would have any benefit.

It’s choppy because it wants to connect to you iPhone. Turn off Bluetooth on it, no more choppy sound. There are more ways to fix this these days. Apple added controls but I don’t recall where. Since I’ve been using this for years it’s what I immediately recall.

 

[SFjohn]

It makes perfect sense actually. It would be a subpar experience. The HomePod Mini doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as a HomePod.

You can play music out of both at the same time. We have a stereo pair of HPs & a HPmini in our living area. We dance for an hour on Sundays (COVID thing) using all three.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

I’m confused, Apple TV supports Dolby Vision & ATMOS.

It only supports it for streaming media on services like Netflix. It does not support such codecs for media that is stored locally such as my servers racks of lossless movies, it down converts. We’ve been trying to get Apple to support the codec for local media for years but it’s a licensing fee they don’t want to pay. In this instance the streaming service pays the licensing fee. You have to check your AVR to ensure it’s passing the audio through and not converting it on the fly.

it’s a bit confusing but it’s a massive issue.

 

[SFjohn]

It only supports it for streaming media on services like Netflix. It does not support such codecs for media that is stored locally such as my servers racks of lossless movies, it down converts. We’ve been trying to get Apple to support the codec for local media for years but it’s a licensing fee they don’t want to pay. In this instance the streaming service pays the licensing fee. You have to check your AVR to ensure it’s passing the audio through and not converting it on the fly.

it’s a bit confusing but it’s a massive issue.

Thanks for the info! I can see it being a huge issue. We made sure our current AVR will pass through audio. We do download & watch videos in HDR. Our at ATMOS speakers are waiting to be installed, so we’re at 5.1 at the moment.